Vandal-resistant frames for advertising, photographic or like material

ABSTRACT

A vandal-resistant frame has a rear member securable to a relatively vertical supporting surface and a front member hinged to the rear member for movement between open and closed positions. The front member has an aperture through which advertising, photographic or like material within the frame can be seen from an external position. The front member is secured to the rear member in a closed position by at least one projection on one member engaged in a recess in the other member adjacent to the aperture in the front member, whereby the projection or projections can be detached from the recess or recesses to open the frame by an appropriately shaped key member inserted between the front and rear members from a position within the aperture.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/515115 filed Oct. 29, 2003.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to vandal-resistant frames for advertising, photographic or like material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is often desirable to provide vandal-resistant frames for advertising, photographic or like material so that the advertising, photographic or like material cannot easily by removed by unauthorized persons and can be removed by authorized persons so that new advertising, photographic or like material can be inserted.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a vandal-resistant frame for advertising, photographic or like material which is securable to a substantially vertical surface and which can readily be opened by an authorized person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a vandal-resistant frame has a rear member securable to a relatively vertical supporting surface and a front member hinged to the rear member for movement between open and closed positions. The front member has an aperture through which advertising, photographic or like material within the frame can be seen from an external position. In the closed position, the front member is secured to the rear member by at least one projection on one member engaged in a recess in the other member adjacent to the aperture in the front member, whereby the projection or projections can be detached from the recess or recesses to open the frame by an appropriately shaped key member inserted between the front and rear members from a position within the aperture.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front of a chair back showing an empty vandal-resistant frame in accordance with one embodiment of the invention secured thereto,

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the frame containing advertising, photographic or like material (with the chair back omitted) showing a key member positioned in the aperture in the front member and about to be inserted between the front member and the rear member,

FIG. 3 is a similar view showing the key member inserted between the front member and the rear member,

FIG. 4 is a similar view showing a card carrying advertising, photographic or like material being positioned in an open frame secured to a chair back, and

FIG. 5 is a similar view of an open frame.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a vandal-resistant frame 10 of suitable plastic material or metal in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is secured to the front surface 12 of the back portion 14 of a seat 16, which may for example be one of many seats in a sports stadium. The frame 10 is generally rectangular in shape with rounded comers and has a rear member 18 and a front member 20 secured to the rear member 18 by a hinge 21 at their lower edges. The frame 10 is secured to the seat 16 by screws (not shown) which pass through apertures 22 in the rear frame member 18. There are of course many other ways in which the frame may be secured to the seat or other support. The front member 20 has a large aperture 24 through which advertising, photographic or like material 26 in the frame can be seen.

The rear member 18 has four recesses 28 unevenly spaced along an upper portion of the front face thereof, and the front member 20 has four similarly spaced projections 30 along an upper portion of the rear face thereof. The upper portion of the rear face of the front member 30 also has grooves 32 extending from the aperture 24 on opposite sides of each projection 30. The front surface of the rear member 18 also has a pair of laterally spaced circular projections 34 adjacent to its lower edge.

When the frame 10 is closed, the projections 30 are located in the recesses 28 and are a relatively tight frictional fit therein. The front member 20 has a peripheral 34 extending therearound except where the hinge 21 is, and the rear member 18 is of a size such that, when the frame 10 is closed, the wall 34 fits over the corresponding edges of the rear member 18, thereby rendering it difficult to open the frame.

A key member 40 of suitable plastic material or metal is of elongated L-shape with a manually grippable portion 42 and a finger portion 44 with eight laterally spaced projecting fingers 46. The key member 40 has a width slightly less than the width of the aperture 24 in the front member 20, and the fingers 46 have a width and spacing such that they can be slid into the grooves 34 in the front member 20.

FIG. 1 shows the frame 10 secured to the seat 16 and in a closed position. FIG. 2 shows the key member 40 positioned in the aperture 24 in the front frame member 20 with the fingers 46 of the key member 40 adjacent and aligned with the recessses 32 in the front frame member 30. FIG. 3 shows the frame 10 with the fingers 46 of the key members 40 fully inserted into the grooves 32 of the front frame member 20 so as to push the top of the frame member 20 away from the top of the rear frame member 18 and remove the projections 30 on the front frame member 20 from the recesses 28 in the rear frame member 18, thereby opening the frame 10.

The advertising, photographic or like material 26 (see FIG. 4) is in the form of a card of such a size that it will fit into the open frame 10 and carrying advertising, photographic or like material on its front face. The card 26 has holes 50 adjacent to its upper edge so that, when in the frame 10, the holes 50 will be aligned with the recesses 28 in the rear member 18 so that the projections 30 on the front frame member 20 can pass therethrough. The card 26 also has two holes 52 adjacent its lower edge which receive the projections 34 on the rear frame 18 to correctly and securely position the card 26 in the frame 10. When the card 26 has been positioned in the open frame 10, the frame 10 can be closed by pushing the front frame member 20 onto the rear frame member 18.

The advantages of the invention will now be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art from the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment. For example, instead of the projections 30 simply being a friction fit in the recesses 28, there may be snapping engagement, with the key fingers 46 being designed to also move the projections 30 out of such snapping engagement when opening the frame 10. Also, a frame in accordance with the invention may of course be secured to suitable supports other than the front of a chair back, for example to the back of a tray attached to the back of an aircraft seat or to an office door.

Other embodiments will also now be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art, the scope of the invention being defined in the appended claims 

1. A vandal-resistant frame having a rear member securable to a relatively vertical supporting surface and a front member hinged to the rear member for movement between open and closed positions, the front member having an aperture through which advertising, photographic or like material within the frame can be seen from an external position, the front member being secured to the rear member in a closed position by at least one projection on one member engaged in a recess in the other member adjacent to the aperture in the front member, whereby the projection or projections can be detached from the recess or recesses to open the frame by an appropriately shaped key member inserted between the front and rear members from a position within the aperture.
 2. A vandal-resistant frame according to claim 1 wherein said one member has a plurality of unevenly spaced projections and the other member has a plurality of correspondingly unevenly spaced recesses in which the projections are engageable.
 3. A vandal-resistant frame according to claim 2 wherein said one member has grooves extending from the aperture on opposite sides of each projection.
 4. A vandal-resistant frame and key member, said frame having a rear member securable to a relatively vertical supporting surface and a front member hinged to the rear member for movement between open and closed positions, the front member having an aperture through which advertising, photographic or like material within the frame can be seen from an external position, the front member being secured to the rear member in a closed position by at least one projection on one member engaged in a recess in the other member adjacent to the aperture in the front member, and an appropriately shaped key member insertable between the front and rear members from a position within the aperture to detach the projection or projections from the recess or recesses to open the frame.
 5. A vandal-resistant frame and key member wherein said one member has a plurality of unevenly spaced projections and the other member has a plurality of corresponding unevenly spaced recesses in which the projections are engageable, said one member having grooves extending from the aperture on opposite sides of each projection, and the key member having laterally spaced fingers slideable into the grooves and thereby operable to push one frame member away from the other frame member and remove the projections from the recesses, thereby opening the frame. 